For the first time since it began in 1976, the North Dakota Governor's Walleye Cup has openings as its Friday start nears.

"We're at 237 (teams)," Joyce Pfliger, one of the committee members, said Wednesday. "We had a couple of teams drop, but we filled them."

There are openings for 252 teams, and the field usually fills shortly after registration opens in January.

Speculation varies as to why entries are down this year.

"Everybody is guessing, but nobody knows for sure," Pfliger said. "When applications first came in in January, we thought it was the low lake level. Now, we don't know if it's the price of gas, or some people having family commitments, or illnesses. And some anglers are getting up there in age."

Registration will run from noon to 6 p.m. today at the Governor's Cup headquarters in the Garrison City Auditorium. Late registration will start at approximately 7:30 p.m., after the rules meeting.

Fishing in the two-day tournament starts at 7 a.m. Friday. Anglers will launch from Fort Stevenson State Park south of Garrison.

There's no rain in the National Weather Service's forecast, which calls for temperatures in Garrison to be in the high 80s Friday and mid-90s on Saturday.

Tournament officials have suspended catch-and-release for the tournament and will not award bonus weight for live fish.

Call it a preview of next year, when all July and August walleye tournaments on Lake Sakakawea will be kill tournaments.

"There are delayed mortality issues," said Greg Power, fisheries division chief for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department. "Even in the livewell, there's mortality associated with the wind and weather" in the peak of summer.

Teams may weigh a 10-fish total for the tournament, and there's no minimum length.

The entry fee is $200 for the Governor's Cup and $50 for the North Dakota Fishing Hall of Fame.

Based on a full field of teams paying the $250 entry fee, the top team picks up a $10,000 payday, and payouts go 42 teams deep.

Pfliger hopes a few more teams sign up to fish this 32nd event.

"Sometimes they decide at the last minute," she said. "It would be nice to get over 240 teams."

(Reach outdoor writer Richard Hinton at 701-250-8256 or richard.hinton@;bismarcktribune.com.)